HMRC is starting the tax year with their annual reminder to submit your tax return. HMRC’s reminder might seem early, but its statistics show that 750,000 people (6.5%) missed the deadline for 2016/17, potentially facing an immediate £100 penalty, even if they had no outstanding tax to pay. Anyone with a 2016/17 return still outstanding could also be clocking up additional penalties of up to £10 per day. HMRC cancelled more than a third of all the penalties initially levied i

For investors, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the relentless stream of news about markets. Being bombarded with data and headlines presented as impactful to your financial well-being can evoke strong emotional responses from even the most experienced investors. Headlines from the “lost decade” (1) can help illustrate several periods that may have led market participants to question their approach. · May 1999: Dow Jones Industrial Average Closes Above 11,000 for t

Couples could now save an extra £20,000 of inheritance tax (IHT), as the residence nil rate band (RNRB) increased in April 2018. The RNRB was increased at start of the new tax year and it is due to increase by £25,000 in each of the next two years, reaching £175,000 in 2020/21. It will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index after that. The RNRB was introduced to give married couples and civil partners an eventual total IHT exemption of £1 million. This new band was introduced

HMRC pauses on digital tax plans HMRC seems to be putting its flagship making tax digital MTD project on hold. Instead, it’s all hands on deck at the tax authority to handle its customs IT replacement system post-Brexit. In an update on the Customs Declaration Service CDS IT programme, Jon Thompson, chief exec of HMRC, said the department has proposed a number of projects which should stop - or not start - and a number which should be stretched out over a longer time sc

The income threshold at which student loan repayments begin rose on 6 April 2018. English and Welsh students who started their courses after 31 August 2012 can now earn £25,000 a year – up from £21,000 – before they have to start repaying their student loans. The increase could provide a saving of £360 a year, with repayment rates at 9%. Although the change was heralded as good news, that is not the whole story: Automatic enrolment pension contributions nearly tripled at the

UK inflation is falling faster than expected, as the March figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.5%. This March figure, published in mid-April, surprised forecasters, who had predicted annual inflation would remain at 2.7%, as in February. That February figure was itself a surprise, as the forecasts had predicted 2.8%. The drop for March may be the result of one-off factors, so it should be treated with caution. One issue is the way individual categories can distort

The Dow Jones industrial Average – the Dow – is a well-known part of the investment market, often quoted by news sources. But what does it mean, and is it useful when making investment decisions? The Dow was created in 1896 and is arguably still used today, mainly thanks to history or habit. There are several issues with the Dow, such as: The index only tracks 30 shares. It has a large absolute value – around 25,000 – which means movements sound bigger than they are. ‘Dow fal